So my wife has been watching Supernatural starting at season 1. By the time Season 4 rolls around the writes decide it’s time to bring God into the picture. If you aren’t familiar with the TV series, Supernatural follows two brothers as they travel around the country repatriating demons to hell… or blowing them into oblivion. I’m not sure which but you get the idea.
Two Demon hunting brothers + lots of Demon possessed people to deal with = Supernatural.
Oh, and even though there’s all this evil stuff floating around, the viewer is left to believe that the only good in the world comes from the flawed people who inhabit t until season 4 when an angel fishes one of the brothers (Dean) out of Hell and claims he did it “Because God Commanded it.” Read more…
There are a lot of reasons to not choose christianity but this one is just dumb. Now I’m not saying that there is no possibility of the undead walking the earth, after all I’m all about how the existence of the supernatural is in fact a natural and ordinary occurrence. HOWEVER, Jesus was not a zombie. Did he rise from the dead? Yes, but the differences end there. I’m sick of hearing this one so let’s put it rest alright? Here are four reasons why Jesus was not a zombie.
Read more…
Good vs Evil by Sugargrl14.
In the movie 30 days of Night, there’s a scene in which a girl walks through the town calling out for help because the evil vampires put her up to it. She reaches the end of the street and no one has come out to help her – no one has taken the bait. The vampires threaten her and she says “Oh God, please. Please Oh God.” The vampire just shakes his head and says “No. No God.” In narrative terms this establishes a base premise of the created universe. In the world in which 30 days of Night takes place, there is no God (in the movie version, I haven’t read the graphic novels so I don’t know if it’s different) in much the same way the Marvel Universe and the DC Universe have a base premise of the existence of superheroes.
But have you noticed how even in supernatural thrillers like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Exorcist in which the church plays an important part, the Father rarely does? Even Constantine which has a base premise of Spiritual Warfare has more about angels and the church than it does about the Father. I think this occurs for three reasons. Read more…
So I’ve started reading this manga called “Blue Exorcist.” The basic concept is that this kid’s father is actually Satan, but rather than join the family business, the kid decides to join the ranks of elite exorcists and take down the Prince of Darkness. Ignore for the moment that he was defeated at the Cross- that takes guts. What I really want to talk about though is how scripture is used in this manga.
Background: in the world of “Blue Exorcist” there are five ways to fight demons: with a gun, with pharmacology, with a sword, by taming demons and turning them against one another, and by reciting scripture. Read more…
I decided to take a look at the way that religion is portrayed in Science Fiction. I’m ignoring Fantasy and Sci-fi Horror because those are pretty much genre’s unto themselves. Sci-Fi horror especially leaves room for the unexplained and therefore the existence of God, because nothing is quite so terrifying as something you just don’t understand.
But let’s look at religion in three specific Science Fiction universes that stand out to me: Star Wars, Foundation, and Warhammer 40K. Read more…
